I Hope It Gives You Hell
by SilverLily aka Blood Moon
Summary: Yuugi Motou loves his normal life, with his normal job, and his lovely fiance. However, all of his normalcy is about to fly out the window when his new neighbor moves in. When the new neighbor decides to egg his house for revenge, it's war. Y/YY
1. Neighbors

_I Hope It Gives You Hell_

Millions of people in the world have neighbors. And, for the most part, they did their best to get along with the rest of the people that lived so close to them. This was an important fact of life. Peace and tranquility were required when it came to keeping one's sanity established in the course of their long or short life. Bad neighbors were, as many people could attest to, absolute nightmares. Some of the ugliest feuds to have ever happened occurred between neighbors.

Yuugi had always felt that he and his fiancé were wonderful neighbors. They were never loud. They were never obnoxious. They didn't have wild parties, or have less-then-desirable individuals over to their home. Always being the courteous individuals that they were, he couldn't imagine how someone would _not_ want to live next to them. Their house wasn't painted a funny color, they didn't leave garbage in their yard, and there weren't any old or unused cars rusting and unused in their driveway. Heck, Anzu even did a bit of gardening in the summer months and made their front porch look quite welcoming for visitors. They had _curb appeal._

Yuugi Motou learned very quickly that his new neighbors weren't anything like this. His new neighbors, it seemed, weren't the type of people to appreciate _curb appeal._ They were messy, loud, and very, very obnoxious. How such a rude and disgusting mad could turn Yuugi Motou's world upside down in one summer was something he would puzzle over for years to come.

It all started in the month of March. Yuugi was busy in the kitchen helping Anzu with the dishes from their nightly dinner. Anzu had made a delicious chicken, and his stomach was quite content as he dried one of his blue dishes with a clean white dish towel.

The snow had just finished melting outside, so the air was getting warmer, but there was still a feeling of downright _cold_ coming up from the ground. The frost hadn't left yet, but it was water in the streets now rather than ice and snow. It was six o'clock in the evening, so the sun was just getting ready to set as it spread gold colored light over the small neighborhood of Garden Street.

A moving truck started to back up into the driveway of Number Sixteen, Garden Street, the house that was just to the right of Yuugi's.

Yuugi Motou walked over to the window in his dining room and looked out. There were three or four men scurrying about as they unloaded their furniture into the previously vacant home. "Anzu, look! We have new neighbors moving in."

Anzu wiped her hands off on her apron as she walked over to the window with her fiancé. "I wondered when that house would get sold. It'll be nice to have new faces in the neighborhood."

Yuugi squinted as he tried to see what the people looked like. Being as the sun was setting on the other side of the moving truck, the sunlight hit his eyes directly, and the people were shadowed from his viewpoint. Yuugi frowned slightly at not being able to see so well. They did look young, though. Maybe they'd have some new friends to socialize with? There weren't many people on Garden Street that were the same age as Yuugi and Anzu. Both of them were twenty five. Most home buyers were slightly older than them, having already firmly established their careers. Yuugi and Anzu, however, had always been driven. Both had college degrees. Both were working full time. Yuugi himself really preferred the stability of a nine-to-five job with benefits. It was nice to feel so domestic.

Yuugi had proposed to Anzu in their final year of college. They decided to buy a house first, then have a wedding. Currently, their wedding date was only six months away. Sometimes it scared him senseless to think about, and at other times, the young man could hardly contain his excitement. Anzu, after all, was his childhood crush. The fact that he ended up with a woman with a gorgeous body and equally brilliant mind seemed nearly unthinkable for a short, geeky person like him.

Anzu walked back into the kitchen. "Take out the garbage, would you dear?" she asked as she started the dishwasher.

"Sure," he replied. He put the baby blue plate he still held in his hand away and pulled out the garbage bag.

Yuugi put his slippers on and wrapped a coat around himself before he opened the front door to take out the garbage. It was Sunday, after all, and the garbage company came around on Monday morning at eleven for collection.

The new people on the street were still pulling furniture and clothes out of the moving truck. Yuugi lifted the lid of his plastic garbage can and dropped the heavy white bag in. As he placed the lid back on, he felt eyes looking at him. When he swiveled his head to the right, he saw one of the men waving back at him. Yuugi smiled, in a very neighborly way, and waved back.

Yes, it would definitely be nice to get some new faces on Garden Street.

***

It started out as any good, normal day usually does. Yuugi woke up at seven o'clock in the morning. He put on his robe, went into the kitchen, and started the coffee maker. Then he showered, shaved, dressed, and styled his hair. As he went downstairs back into the kitchen, Anzu woke up for her shower. By the time his coffee had been poured and the eggs scrambled, Anzu entered the kitchen with a kiss good morning and a request for her favorite section of the morning paper.

It was routine. It was good, comfortable, and normal. Yuugi liked normal.

When breakfast was done, Yuugi kissed Anzu on the cheek goodbye and got into his car. It was eight thirty when he left, the same time he left every morning. Yuugi drove all of the way to the attorney office he worked at as a human resource assistant. Anzu would drive to work at the local theater, as she was a ballet instructor.

Yuugi's day at work was very normal, too. He filed paperwork. He sent emails and faxed memos. He cleared out his in-box. He solved the normal, every day problems that occur because people don't pay attention to what they were doing, and more often than not screwed up their paperwork on something. Nothing too stressful. Nothing traumatizing. Nothing inherently _wrong_ with his day at all.

When Yuugi arrived home with his portfolio under his arm and his afternoon tea in hand, he had a small smile on his face. His smile grew a little larger when Anzu arrived home fifteen minutes later, just like she always did.

Yuugi looked up from his laptop at the dining room table when his fiancé walked in the front door. "Hello, Anzu! How was your day?"

Anzu smiled, then placed a large white paper bag on the table as she pulled off her high heeled shoes. There were semi-transparent spots on the bag, like something very greasy was resting within it. "Fine, dear. I brought home dinner tonight."

Yuugi frowned. She wasn't going to cook tonight? Why not? He preferred her cooking to take out almost any night of the week. "Why?" he couldn't help but ask.

She smiled again. "Well, I was hoping we could bring over a pie I baked yesterday to the new neighbors. You know, to welcome them? Besides, I didn't feel much like cooking tonight."

Yuugi closed his laptop with a shrug. The excuse made perfect sense. Why should she have to cook every night, anyway? But still...he took a cautious peek into the bag, and saw fried chicken inside of it. He wasn't really a fan of fried chicken. "Sure, that sounds nice," was all he found himself saying instead. Their newest neighbors had only just finished moving in a couple of days ago. It was now the beginning of the month of April. They were bound to be more or less settled by then.

So, fifteen minutes later, at exactly six o'clock, Yuugi and Anzu made their way over the their newest neighbor's front door with a fresh apple pie held Anzu's small hands.

Yuugi rang the door bell, then stood back and started to straighten out his shirt. Of course, as they stood there, they began to wonder of the door bell was broken, because no one came to answer the door.

"That's strange," Yuugi mused. "There's still a car in the driveway. Someone's bound to be home."

"Try the doorbell again," Anzu suggested.

Yuugi rang twice this time, and also knocked on the door for good measure.

Two minutes later, there was the unmistakable noise of someone cursing on the other side of the door. Yuugi and Anzu stood back as the door opened with a swift jerk. The man on the other side of the door did not look too friendly. His eyes were dark with sleep which was a feat, as he had already very darkly tanned skin. His black, red, and _blond _hair was terribly tousled, and he was lacking a shirt as his silk sleep pants hung very loosely around his toned waist. Yuugi noticed with distaste two tattoos on his biceps, and a rather large necklace with a piece of metal fashioned after an ankh. "_What!?"_ The man asked.

"Forgive us," Anzu began. "We didn't realize we were disturbing you. We just wanted to bring over a welcome to the neighborhood gift. See?" Anzu held the pie up like a peace offering. "Freshly baked apple pie."

The man looked at Anzu in the face for a split second, then snorted. "Uh, sure, fine. Pie." He grabbed it and started to step back into his house. He threw Yuugi a rather sour look as he started to close the door.

"Uh, wait! What's your name?" Yuugi asked. "I'm Yuugi. This is my fiancé, Anzu."

"Atem," was the short answer thrown over his shoulder. Yuugi heard a grumble of something along the lines of 'too early to be human,' before the door was closed on their faces.

"Well... I've _never!_" Yuugi fumed as they left his front porch. "That is absolutely _no _way to treat your neighbors! What a rude, obnoxious man!"

Anzu's lips thinned in agreement. "He was rather cross."

"Jerk," Yuugi muttered under his breath. Hopefully, he wouldn't have to deal with that level of rudeness anymore.

***

The next day started off normal again. That, Yuugi was very grateful for. It was a Thursday, so it was getting closer to the weekend, and Yuugi was looking forward to his two days off so he could spend some time fixing the leaky pipes in his spare bathroom.

The neighbor's house was very quiet as he got in his car and left for the day. Yuugi hoped the man would simply stay quiet and to himself, because he certainly didn't want to deal with a sour attitude any more than the next person did.

Anzu cooked dinner that night, thank _goodness._ And it was a nice, normal casserole, too. Yuugi finished his work on his laptop. Anzu cleaned the downstairs. They finished their dishes, and finally, at nine thirty at night, turned off the lights as they headed to bed.

Yuugi was just about to fall asleep with a grin as he mentally went over the paperwork that needed to be completed at work tomorrow, when the unthinkable happened.

Loud, horrible pounding noises of a bass turned up far too high started to drum against their ears. The noise was coming from, of course, the right of the house.

It appeared that the new neighbors liked to play their music rather loudly at ten o'clock at night. Yuugi grumbled with irritation as he rolled over and tried to use his pillow to cut out the noise. God above, it was so _loud._ What kind of a person played music so loud at night?? "Doesn't he know people need to _work_ in the morning?!" he growled out.

Anzu 'hmmed' in agreement next to him, but otherwise said nothing more.

The music pounded away until three am. Yuugi was so flustered at his situation, he began to think about getting up and telling the neighbor to turn the music off.

In fact, that's _exactly_ what he was going to do.

With a growl that promised blood, Yuugi rolled out of bed and pounded out of the bedroom. Anzu didn't say anything, probably having already fallen asleep somehow despite all of the horrid noise that filled the night air. Yuugi ran all of the noise laws through his head as he put on his slippers and tied his robe around his waist. _That stupid, arrogant jerk has absolutely no _respect_ for other people living next to him!!!_

Yuugi walked out of his front door, pounded down his walkway, and made his way next door. It seemed that every light in the neighbor's house was on. The music gradually got louder as Yuugi stomped up the front steps to the door. His frown deepened with each pound on the front door.

The door opened up quickly. The same person from before was on the other side, but he looked considerably more awake than the day before. Yuugi's mind gasped at the sight of leather, buckles, chains, and a cigarette in the man's mouth. Vivid red eyes looked at Yuugi as the shorter man stood there in his blue and white striped night robe, an angry frown on his face.

Atem smirked at him and rested one of his arms on the door above his head. "Well, hello there, kitten. What can I do for you?"

"It's three am!" Yuugi said shrilly. "The rest of the human population has to _work_ tomorrow! Would you mind turning it down, please? You've kept me up _all night long!_"

Annoyingly, the man's smirk grew. "Sorry, pet. I didn't realize. I work night, ya see. Guitarist for a band. It's one of my few nights off. I was just finishing up with unpacking some boxes of stuff."

"Atem, who's there?" Another voice from inside the house asked.

The rude man with the shocking red eyes looked back into the house. He took a drag off his cigarette before he answered. "Just the neighbor, Bakura."

"What, that bat-shit crazy old man?"

Yuugi spluttered. "Mr. Hawkins is _not-_"

"Nah, the one who brought pie," Atem replied, which cut off Yuugi's protest.

A white haired man walked up to the door, his attire just as...as..._odd_ as Atem's. "Oh, yeah. Pie guy. Thanks for that." His smile was a wicked one, made even more so by the gruesome scar that ran from his right eye down to the bottom of his jaw.

Yuugi sighed. "Just turn it down, all right?"

Atem grinned. "Sure, kitten. Whatever."

Yuugi growled as Atemu shut the door. "I am _not a cat!_"

***

Yuugi put two extra scoops of coffee in the coffee maker that morning. He was going to need his drink extra strong that morning, just to try and stay awake. He was so _frustrated_ at having a lack of sleep. He didn't really enjoy it when his routine was disrupted so rudely.

Yuugi even forgot to give Anzu a kiss goodbye that morning as he left for work. Even the people at work noted how sour he was as he went through his daily filing. It was unnerving, really, because Yuugi had a naturally mild temperament. Seeing him so out of sorts was disconcerting.

So, by the time the day was done and Yuugi was driving home at five-o-five at night, he just wanted to go to bed early that night and catch up on his shut eye. After all, it _was_ a Friday. He'd have the weekend to recoup from his terrible Thursday night.

Anzu was home early, because her car was in the driveway as he pulled up. Yuugi frowned a little. Anzu rarely ever got home early. Maybe she just wanted to sleep like he did. She had to have been shorted on her shut-eye as well.

Yuugi walked in the front door and kicked his shoes off. "Honey, I'm home."

"Hello, dear," Anzu called from the kitchen.

Yuugi smiled. She was cooking dinner. Wonderful. He set his briefcase by the door and walked into the kitchen. He found her in front of the stove, stirring a pot of noodles. "What's for dinner?" he asked and kissed her on the cheek.

"Spaghetti," she replied.

Thank God for normalcy.

Yuugi stood close behind her as he looked at the pot of noodles. "I think I'm going to go to bed early tonight. I'm so tired from last night." He started to rub her shoulders as she cooked. Surely she'd enjoy it. Heck, _deserved_ it even. She worked just as hard as he did.

Anzu shrunk her shoulders away as she continued to stir. "Probably a good idea. We have a lot of work to do tomorrow around the house." She grabbed a noodle strainer from the cupboard above her.

Yuugi's heart sunk a little as he wondered why she pulled away, but it was probably just to get the strainer. "Need any help?"

Anzu looked at him and smiled a rather tiny smile. "No, no, I'm fine. Go kick your feet up for a minute. Dinner's almost ready."

Yuugi nodded his assent and walked into the living room.

Dinner was very quiet, mostly because Yuugi wasn't in the mood to talk about work. It hadn't been a good day, after all, and there was no point in dwelling on it.

"So.." Anzu started once they'd finished eating. "What did the neighbor say last night when you went over?"

Yuugi frowned at his plate. "Said he works nights as a guitarist in a bad. A _band_, of all things! Such a shameful job, if you can even call it that."

"Is he alone there?" Anzu asked.

Yuugi shook his head. "No, there was someone else there. Worse looking than he is, too. A big, horrible scar right down his face." Yuugi drew a line over his right eye and down to his jaw, just where the scar was that he'd seen the night before.

Anzu winced at the thought of such a painful mark. "Hmm."

The chair made noise as it scraped across the wood floor when Yuugi stood up. "Come on. Let's just get some rest. We'll do the dishes in the morning."

Anzu nodded. "Okay."

The dirty dishes were left in the sink and they went up to bed. There was still even a little sunlight left as they walked up the stairs to their bed.

Yuugi felt himself fall asleep, and dreams start to come, when it started to happen again.

His horrible neighbor was once again playing his music as loud as he could. Yuugi rolled over in his bed and looked at the clock. It was midnight. At least he'd gotten a few hours of sleep before Atem started in again.

Yuugi wasn't going to play nice anymore. With a frustrated growl, he rolled out of bed, went downstairs, and called the cops. There were noise laws, after all, and Atem was very clearly breaking them.

At twelve fifteen, the sight of the blinking red and blue cops lights made Yuugi's heart sing. He didn't even need to see the scowl on the rude man's face when the cops told him to keep it down or pay the fine. The noise quieted. Yuugi, finally, got some sleep.

When he woke up the next morning, he couldn't have been happier. It had been quiet the entire rest of the night. Wonderful! He got up and tied his robe in place, started the coffee machine, and did the dishes. Yuugi was whistling a small tune as he made breakfast, and that was the state that Anzu found him in when she came downstairs in her own pink bathrobe. "Yuugi?" She asked when she entered the kitchen.

"Morning!" Yuugi chirped. He kissed her good morning and dished up her eggs and pancakes.

"You're in an awfully good mood this morning." She sat down and started to go through the Saturday paper.

"Yep," he chirped. "Didn't you notice it was nice and quiet last night?"

The brown haired woman frowned a little as she sipped the coffee Yuugi had poured for her. "Hmm. What happened?"

He smiled as he took a bite of pancakes. "It appears that someone called the cops on the neighbors last night."

Anzu's head popped up and looked at him. Her face was stiff with clear disapproval. "Oh, Yuugi, you _didn't_!"

Yuugi raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

She scowled as she set her cup of coffee down. "Don't go making enemies with the neighbors! It'll just make things worse!"

Yuugi bristled with his defense. "We haven't done anything wrong! _They're_ the ones that are disturbing the peace!"

Anzu shook her head as she unfolded the paper. "Oh, Yuugi..."

He didn't respond as he continued to eat. The rest of the meal was mostly quiet, as neither could think of anything else to say after their previous conversation.

Yuugi went to pick up the dishes and start washing them. Anzu folded the paper up, having finished it, and gathered the plastic bag it had come in when the paper boy had thrown it to their front porch that morning. Her face gradually grew further and further into a look of disdain as she noticed a strange goo slip off the bag and stick to the table. "What..._is _this?" she asked.

Yuugi came over and saw the clear colored goo. "What on earth...?" he wondered. "It almost looks like..."

Anzu saw his jaw drop as his eyes grew wider. "Yuugi?" she asked again.

Yuugi ran to the front door, and Anzu followed. It was then that a funny smell permeated their noses. Yuugi ran down the front steps and stood back, gazing at the front of his house. His eyes went from confused to furious very quickly. "They _didnt't!!!_"

Anzu went to stand next to him. Her horror grew.

The neighbors had egged their house. There were broken shells everywhere, and sticky, smelly, yellow and clear goo dripping from the shingles.

The sound of a garbage bag being dumped into a can sounded from across the way. Yuugi's eyes snapped over to see Atem, shirtless once again, dropping his garbage outside. "You!" he barked.

"Yuugi, no!" Anzu cried as she followed him to the dividing fence.

Atem looked up at the noise. He smirked when he saw who was making it over his way. "Well, morning, kitten."

"You degenerate hooligan!" Yuugi cried. "You _egged_ my house!"

Atem merely shrugged, which infuriated Yuugi even more. "You called the cops on me."

"You kept me up _again!_"

"On a Friday night, no less."

Yuugi huffed, as if it being a Friday night would make it any more acceptable.

Atem nodded his head in Anzu's direction. "Heya, toots."

"Don't you call her 'toots'!"

"What made you end up with a tight ass like him?"

Yuugi's face turned red, and Atem remained as calm as ever. "You...!" Yuugi shook his finger in the man's handsome face. "This is _war _Atem!"

Atem licked his dry lips and smiled a wicked smile. "Bring it on, pet."


	2. Tit for Tat

_I Hope It Gives You Hell_

Yuugi couldn't remember being quite so angry and miserable as he was come early Sunday afternoon. He was very sweaty, very dirty, and also getting a little hungry.

Anzu was not shy about expressing her irritation with Yuugi. She had told him, with a finger wagging in his face, that if he hadn't have called the cops, their house wouldn't have been egged. He brought the trouble on himself.

She refused to lift even one finger to help him clean up the front porch.

It was a rather nasty affair at that, too. Some of the egg yolk had dried to a hard, concrete mess in certain areas, and his attempts at getting other spots cleaned only resulted in the paint getting stripped off. Yuugi gave up with cleaning. After pressuring washing the front of the house, he got in his shiny BMW car, went to the local home improvement store, and bought ten gallons of white house paint.

Luckily, he was nearly done with the front of the house. Yuugi hated house work of this nature in the first place; he usually contracted this kind of work out. Anzu, of course, would hear none of it, and Yuugi himself was a little mortified at the thought of his front door looking like a failed home economics project for more than a few minutes; he couldn't wait the few days it would take to hire someone to paint it for him.

Yuugi dipped his paint brush into the half-full container of paint and started to finish the last bit of his job, right next to the door. A few drips fell to the wood porch, only an inch from his foot. Yuugi scowled as he looked down, very glad that it hit the sheet that he'd lain out, rather than the porch.

And, as sometimes can happen, Yuugi felt a rusty gear in his head start to spin. Thinking of such treachery almost felt _good_. After all, Yuugi hadn't used any of his pranking skills since elementary school. The thought of putting any of that into practice again made him nearly giddy.

Yuugi looked at the paint at his feet, grinned very slowly, then looked slyly towards his neighbor's front door.

After all. It was still fairly _early,_ as far as Atem's schedule was concerned. He could do enough damage that the rude man wouldn't know what hit him until it was too late.

After all, it was war. Atem himself had challenged him to 'bring it on,' and that was exactly what Yuugi intended to do.

***

Atem stretched his arms behind his back as he walked down the hallway of his new house with a grin on his face. Gods, he loved working nights.

He walked up to the front door and started to open it with one had, then scratch his rear with the other. It was nice not living with girls, because they always yelled about his habits being crude. Meh. If he had an itch, by damn he was going to scratch.

His nightly routine involved him getting up, getting the mail, downing a beer, then packing up his gear for a show. On his nights off, he might shower early, then practice the night away. After all, showering before a show was downright silly. With the amount of sweat the band lost during a night, he still had to shower before even the thought of crawling into his covers crossed his mind.

The night air was crisp and fresh. Atemu stretched his toes, then stepped out onto his front porch and headed towards his mail box.

It didn't look like there was much of anything good in the mail yet. None of the spammers knew of his new address, and none of his bills were due yet. One letter from his cousin, because Seto knew he never bothered to check his email.

Atemu stuffed the mail under his arms as he walked back up the stairs of the front porch and re-entered his home.

A quick couple of steps into his house had him looking down at his feet. They felt funny, like the dirt was sticking to his skin like glue. He balanced a hand against the wall as he lifted his left foot to look at it, and his dark red eyes grew wide.

That man...he wouldn't have...

Atem looked behind him at his previous foot falls, and saw white paint specked with dirt imprinted on his gray colored carpet.

War indeed...

***

Yuugi stood by his window in his dining room, a content smile on his face. There was the faint sound of the neighbor closing his front door, then a pregnant pause. Yuugi was still, and if one noticed, he was holding his breath.

Then the faint noise of someone yelling in shock.

Yuugi's grin grew.

Painting the floor of Atem's front porch, ah, a stroke of _genius _that had been! Yuugi chuckled as he made his way up to bed. The wait all afternoon had been _well_ worth it. If Atem accepted a war, it was going to be an___ugly_ one, without doubt.

He even had time to fix that leaky pipe in his spare bathroom, too.

***

Yuugi was not tired as he woke up that morning. The music hadn't been loud again, and he and Anzu had made it to bed at a decent hour. His morning routine went just like it was supposed. He made his coffee, had his shower, shaved his face down to be baby smooth, ate his breakfast, and headed to work at exactly eight thirty in the morning.

His work day was great, too. There was very little filing. There wasn't that many memos to send out, and the daily queue of emails went so _smooth._ Yuugi was whistling a tune on his way home from work.

When he pulled into his driveway, nothing looked out of place. Not even one blade of grass was missing. Perhaps Atem would wait a day or two for pay back? Maybe he had even won their little war?

Yuugi thought about such an idea, then quickly disregarded. He may have been a very rigid creature of habit, but he wasn't arrogant enough to think that Atem had simply given up. The hooligan didn't have the personality to do that.

As he got out of his car he grabbed his briefcase in one hand, his afternoon tea in the other, and closed his car door. To his mild surprise, Anzu pulled up in the driveway in her little two door sports car right after him.

Odd. She _always_ got home fifteen minutes after he did. Why was her schedule varying so much these past couple of days?

Anzu got out of her car and smiled at him. Yuugi smiled back, the sight of her auburn hair flying in the breeze a perfect Kodak moment. "Hello, Yuugi!" She greeted as she walked up.

"Anzu! Your home early, dear."

Anzu nodded as they walked up to the front door. "Yes. Classes have been going well. I haven't had to stay as late as usual."

Yuugi nodded. The answer, of course, made sense.

Yuugi opened up the front door of his home, then stopped abruptly as dozens of colors assaulted his eyes.

Anzu yelled out in shock and stepped away from the mountain of balloons that fell out of their front door.

Yuugi could hardly believe it. Hardly!!! Atem had actually sacrificed his sleep to break into his home and filled it to the ceiling with _balloons!?!?!_

"Yuugi!" Anzu yelled shrilly.

He looked back at her, his insides squirming with guilt, but his exterior still showed shock.

Anzu held up one of the balloons and pointed to the picture that was on it. Yuugi felt his jaw hang down at the sight.

It turned out, that every single one of the brightly colored rubber balloons had an image of a man's fist flipping the birdie to all that cared to see.

So...it was this level of war, was it?

"Yuugi! This is ridiculous and _childish!_ I hope you've got a pin on you, because I am _not_ cleaning up this mess!!! I'll be at a hotel tonight! Call me when you're finished!"

Yuugi felt his perfectly good day crumble. "Anzu!"

But she had already turned away and headed back to her car. As her engine revved to life and she pulled out of the driveway, Yuugi yelled in frustration and kicked at the infernal balloons that were cluttering up his home.

That man would pay for this...

***

Atem collapsed in his bed with an exhausted groan. That concert went on much longer than he thought it would. He hadn't expected the band lead to let two encores last an extra three hours. It was seven am by the time he finally made it out of the shower and crawled into bed.

The thought of his uptight neighbor crossed his mind, and Atem couldn't help the nefarious grin that crossed his handsome face as he allowed sleep to claim him.

Then, somehow, his morning just got worse.

The black curtains in his room fell down, and the lights overhead turned on. Why the bloody hell were they so bright, too?

Atem snarled as he lifted his head from his pillow and looked at his bedroom door.

No...no Bakura in sight. Malik wasn't anywhere either. So, no crazies in sight, and yet his curtain was very clearly broken, and his lights were on. Atem got up and walked over to the light switch and flipped it...

It was down.

He frowned. It was down? He flipped it up, and it was still on. Same thing with down. He grew more frustrated and flipped it constantly, with no success of turning that light off.

"_Arrrgh!! Atem!! What the bloody hell is wrong with our _lights!_" _

And just like that, Atem's suspicions had been confirmed. Kitten _must_ have been a whiz at electrical; it would only make sense that he'd slipped into their house while they were at a gig and rewired the primary lights in the bedrooms. Was the living room, bathrooms, and kitchen the same?

Atem ran through the rest of the rooms in the house and felt his dread grow. Oh, yes, the rest of the house _had_ been re-wired. "How did the little man _do_ it?!" He yelled.

He supposed he kind of had it coming, filling the entire lower level of Yuugi's house with balloons. Heh. He'd conned so many people into helping him get all of those balloons blown up. When he went into the kitchen to call the local electrician, Bakura's blood shot eyes looked beyond reason.

"I'm gonna kill someone," Bakura rasped. His fingers twitched, as if he was imagining someone's neck between his hands getting squeezed.

Atem sighed, then rummaged through one of the junk drawers. "Here," he tossed a set of eye covers over to Bakura, left over from an over night flight he'd taken across an ocean a couple of years back. "Use these to sleep. I'm calling the electrician."

Like a zombie, Bakura groaned, but took the cover and stumbled back to his room.

His brow creased as the phone ran. _Just wait, pet. This is far from over..._

***

Yuugi sighed as he got home from work and put his keys on the counter. This fight between his neighbor was harder to maintain that he thought it would be. He'd been up half the night getting that house rewired. Of course, the thought of Atem's precious day-time sleep getting disturbed, just like his normal night-time sleep, made his smile the whole time. But he'd been walking on egg shells around Anzu for days already, and he just wanted to get back to his normal routine. He didn't like the level of stress he was under.

At least he had the house clean of all pieces of rubber, and Anzu was once again back in the house. Yuugi hadn't even allowed her to cook dinner, in part of his attempt to make it up to her. He'd cooked her favorite dish, cleaned the _whole_ house, rubbed her feet, and only went up to bed when she was ready.

It was midnight when they went to bed, and Yuugi could have cried in thanks when his neighbor didn't pump his music again.

He slept throughout the whole night.

When he woke up, he rolled over to look at the clock, and blinked wearily when the numbers didn't come in focus right away.

Huh. That was funny. It looked like the power had gone out, because the phone was blinking that it was currently five fifteen am. Yuugi fumbled with his watch and checked the time.

Anzu had never been woken up by the sound of her fiancé yelling before, but it certainly wasn't pleasant. "Yuugi, what is it?" She asked of him.

Yuugi jumped up and started to get dressed without a shower. "It's eight forty five!!! I'm supposed to be half way to _work_ by now!"

Anzu shot up in bed and looked at the clock. He was right, they were both going to be late for work. "What happened? Was there a storm last night?!"

Yuugi growled as he fumbled with a sock while still attempting to stand. "I don't know! But I've got to go!!!!"

Yuugi, after all, had never been late for work before. It was, literally, one of his worst nightmares.

When Yuugi got to work, he got many a funny stare. He was without breakfast, without coffee, without a shave, and very grumpy. He still looked good, of course, because his clothes were clean and his hair was brushed, but he certainly looked out of sorts.

While Yuugi's boss only laughed in good humor, Yuugi didn't feel the situation was very funny. After all, it was the first time he'd ever missed _any_ bit of work in over three years.

That's right, Yuugi didn't even use vacation and sick days. He had over four hundred hours of vacation and sick time saved up, and frankly, no one at his work thought he'd ever use any of it.

When Yuugi got home that afternoon, he went straight to his power box and saw the door open over his power buttons.

Atem had turned off the main power, then turned it back on again. Plenty enough the cut the power to any clock with an alarm on it. _All right, Atem. If you're gonna cut into my work time, it's now gotten personal._ Yuugi cracked his fingers as he plotted his next move. _This kitten isn't going to play nice anymore._


	3. Not True

_I__ Hope It Gives You Hell_

Yuugi's next self appointed task had not been all that pleasant in implementation, but he knew, in the end, the results would be well worth the effort. The amount of hazard that his next prank would cause, along with the amount of strife, was well deserved for someone that would willingly cut away time from his work day.

Oh, this revenge would be _so_ deliciously sweet.

Of course, the fruit of the animals left behind at the local dog park had been downright gross collecting, but Yuugi couldn't help but cackle as he set the odorous pile right next to the air intake vent of Atem's home. He rigged a small but powerful fan to sit just behind it and turned it on, allowing all of the unpleasant, vomit-inducing smells to waft around inside of the rude man's home.

With a bounce in his step and a smile on his face, Yuugi hooked up two of his largest sub-woofers outside of his home so that he could listen to music as he washed and polished his car in his driveway on such a fine Saturday morning.

At exactly eleven o'clock in the morning, Yuugi blasted _The Blue Danube_ by Strauss, and started whistling along as he turned on the hose. _Let's just see how much Mr. Musician likes it when I pump music he doesn't like while he's trying to sleep. _

Yuugi noticed Anzu poke her head out of the front door. She could clearly see he was up to something, so she scowled at him and went back inside. Yuugi shrugged and went back to what he was doing. He would win this war soon enough, then Anzu could forget all about it.

It wasn't any longer than five minutes later that the neighbor's front door banged open, and two people stumbled off of the porch and walked up to the dividing fence. Yuugi couldn't help but laugh as he set the hose down, because Atem was stumbling along and waving his hands to move the air around his nose. The white haired man behind him was gagging and pinching his nose closed.

"Kitten!"

Yuugi walked up to the fence and smirked. "Give it up, Atem! I'm going to win this war, sooner or later!"

Bakura looked up, suddenly very alert. "You? Pie Guy is the one that's been sabotaging the house?! So it's _you_ I've gotta kill!" The crazy white haired man went to jump the fence, but Atem caught him on the shoulder before he could try.

"Easy, Bakura. I challenged him."

Bakura's crazy eyes snapped to Atem, clearly wanting to fight. "You?! It'll take _days_ to get the shit smell out of the house! What the hell are we supposed to do until then?"

"We'll crash at Ryou's for a couple of days. Relax."

Bakura growled viciously, then trudged over the one of the cars in his driveway and got in. He drove away without even waiting for his house mate. Atem sighed, then fished out a pack of cigarettes from the baggy sleep pants that he wore and lit it. Yuugi scrunched his nose in distaste as the taller man breathed in the smoke, then leaned his bare arms against the fence, as he was once again topless. "Tell me, pet, where's that picket fence of yours, hm?"

Yuugi frowned at the question. "Excuse me?"

"And what about that shiny car of yours? Does it ever take you anywhere other than work? Road trips? Adventures? Anything?"

The shorter man folded his arms and stood rigidly. "I happen to be very _happy_ with my life. Everything was perfect until you came along."

Atem shook his head and pulled the cigarette away from his lips. "Ah, Kitten, I couldn't imagine running the rate race and working nine to five like you. Life would feel so meaningless."

Yuugi felt his frustration grow a little more. "Do I look like a cat to you? Do I really have fuzzy ears? A tail?! Whiskers? Stop calling me that!"

Atem, once again, smirked at Yuugi. "Sure, pet. Whatever."

Yuugi growled, walked over to his car, grabbed his hose, and sprayed it directly at Atem. After the man's initial shout of shock, he actually laughed as he ran back into his house, grabbed a shirt and his keys, and got in his car, still dripping wet. After all, he had some more sleep to catch up on before the next attack.

***

Yuugi sat at his laptop in the dining room, working on his monthly finances when the funniest thing started to happen. It was Sunday evening, and the sun was just beginning to set. He took a sip of his iced tea, then set it down and stretched, and noticed the view outside his window.

People were gathering outside of his house, the neighbor's house, and in the street.

This was not only strange, but completely _not _okay, as it was getting frightfully close to his bedtime, and whatever it was that Atem was up to, it was likely to upset his sleep schedule again. With his usual huff of frustration, Yuugi got up from his chair and pounded his way outside. Sure enough, Atem was outside, right in the middle of setting up the band's gear for what looked like a show right in the middle of his lawn.

"Atem!" Yuugi huffed as he stalked up to the now leather-clad man. "What is the meaning of this!?"

The guitarist smiled. "Ah, Kitten! So glad you could make it! Stay for the show?"

"You can't do this! It's a work night!" He complained shrilly. Good grief, there were so many people standing around waiting...

Scarily, Atem's smile grew wider. "Actually, Kitten, I can." He shoved a yellow flyer into Yuugi's hands. "Stay a while. After, it's for charity."

Damn that man...

The flyer read '_Concert in the Street! Join us this Sunday evening for a special two hour concert, sponsored by Pub's Chub's Bar and Grill. All proceeds will go to the local children's hospital, so pony up folks!' _

It was sponsored. It was legal. And what was more- he'd look like a the biggest jerk on the planet if he protested the event. Yuugi's purple eyes snapped up to Atem's very dark red ones. "I hate you..." He growled.

Atem laughed. "Ah, I know pet."

Yuugi stalked back to his house and slammed his front door shut on his way in. Gods above, did Atem know how to _get_ to him! Yuugi closed the lid on his laptop and dumped his tea in the sink, and by the time he was turning the lights off downstairs the music outside had started to play.

Yuugi found himself a little shocked as he heard the words that started to be sung. He looked out the window, and saw Atem, standing tall on top of a riding lawn mower, a _lawn mower _of all things, and start singing into a wireless microphone set that sat on his head. _Now where's your picket fence love...and where's that shiny car? Did it ever get you far? When you see my face I hope it gives you hell, gives you hell..._

Yuugi eyes widened with shock. _Well I'll be damned...he must have written that himself. _

Atem's song continued. He certainly looked like he was having fun strumming away on his guitar. _And you're still probably working at a nine to five pace...I wonder how bad that tastes..._

Yuugi fumed a little to himself. That man knew nothing about his life. How could he say it was so bad when he'd never lived it?

_I hope it gives you hell, hope it gives you hell...And if you find a man that's worth a damn and treats you well, then he's a fool, I hope it gives you hell..._

Yuugi scowled one last time on his way up to bed. He likely wouldn't be able to get to sleep for the next two hours, but at least it wasn't going to go on until three am.

***

Atem yawned very loudly as he woke up and rolled over in bed. There was still light trying to peek its way in past his once again hung black curtains, so it still had to be daytime. He rolled over and glared at his clock.

Good grief, it was only eleven thirty in the morning. Oh, god, why was he awake already? Damn. Kitten was ruining his sleep schedule more than he thought. With a groan, Atem pulled himself out of bed and stumbled his way into the kitchen.

The house still smelled a little funny, but that was why there was two bottles of Febreeze in the house every six feet. Atem sprayed liberally everywhere he walked. At least it helped a little.

The guitarist pulled a green bottle of beer out of the fridge and pulled the cap off. Perhaps if he dulled his brain enough, he could snooze until he really needed to be awake. He burped loudly after his first drink and took a look outside of his kitchen window. His kitchen, by some virtue, faced towards Yuugi's house, and he had a spectacular view right into a room that looked like Anzu's dance practice room. Mirrors were hung all over the walls, and there was a wood floor with no rugs, and no furniture either.

What really caught his attention, he supposed, was the view of the people in the room that afternoon. Anzu was in there wearing what looked like one of her dance get-ups. There was another man in there with her, and they were twirling around in one of their dance routines. Atem gave them a funny look, then took another drink of beer. Ballet. He certainly didn't get it.

The next glance gave him an eye full. The man, who was very clearly not Yuugi, as this man had long black hair, was much taller, and much leaner, bent Anzu back in a dip, then held her there as his spare hand started to roam. The woman in his arms looked like she was enjoying whatever he was doing, because she pressed herself up against him and raised one of her legs for better access.

When the man pulled down the front of her blouse and went to town, Atem lowered his bottle with an open mouth. "Oh, Kitten..."

***

Yuugi came home from work on Wednesday a little antsy. He'd cut the power to Atem's house on Monday afternoon and relished in the fact that the man and his roommate were late to a show, and had been waiting somewhat impatiently for the next counter-attack, but none had come yet. Either Atem had given up, which Yuugi _highly_ doubted, or he was planning something really big. Yuugi was actually starting to dread how awful it might be. Would he come home to a purple house? His driveway torn up? Flaming mystery piles on his doorstep?

So far...nothing... It was actually starting to worry him. They'd been at it for so long already, he wasn't sure what their relationship would be like now _not_ pranking each other at every turn.

What was also a little unsettling was the fact that Anzu had been home early every night that week. She had never, ever before come home early in her career, but the answers of 'classes are smooth, and they haven't needed to be long' seemed to stop any further questioning he might have. Who was he to doubt her? They'd been together for practically ever, it wouldn't make sense to lose faith in her over something as silly as when she got off of work. So, with a silent promise to himself to stop _worrying_ about everything, Yuugi got out of his car and held his tea in one hand and his briefcase in the other. Anzu was home, once again, before he was. Yuugi walked inside and set his briefcase on the dining room table and walked into the kitchen. His tea needed a little more sugar. "Anzu, dear, I'm home!"

"Yuugi! Welcome home!" The response was muffled, which meant that it came from the back of the house. She was likely in her practice room. Yuugi smiled at the sight of a roasting pan in the oven cooking. By the smell of it, Anzu had cooked meatloaf for dinner. He was looking forward to the meatloaf sandwich for lunch tomorrow.

"How was your day dear?"

Yuugi turned around, as Anzu had come into the kitchen. Her face was flushed and her hair in pulled back in a bun, which was her usual appearance when she'd been dancing all day long. He smiled as he slipped off his work coat and sipped his tea again. "Good. Quiet, actually."

His fiancé nodded as she opened up the oven and checked on dinner. "That's good. We haven't heard anything from next door since Sunday. Did you and the neighbor finally give up on your little fight?"

He shrugged, which she didn't really see as her eyes were facing the oven, and clicked his tongue. "I guess. I was expecting him to do something else, but I haven't heard a peep out of him. It was actually making me a bit nervous."

Anzu shot him a sharp look. "If my house gets burned down because of this..!" she threatened with a finger.

Yuugi held his hands up in a sign of peace. "Hey, hey! It'll be okay, really! It's harmless!"

Anzu scowled. "Men," she mumbled to herself.

Deciding to distance himself from the situation, Yuugi grabbed the half empty garbage can and pulled out the bag. "Why don't I just take out the garbage?" She didn't respond as Yuugi slunk out of the front door and walked to the sidewalk to place his bag into the can.

And, as if it were the fates themselves that was causing all of Yuugi's strife, the neighbor's door opened up and out walked mister shirtless himself as he went to check the mail.

"Hey!" Yuugi called.

Atem spared him a red-eyed glance, then started to head back to his house.

What, not even a comeback? No hello, Kitten? No taunts or insults or attacks? "You can't just walk away like that! What the hell is going on, Atem? Where's your next prank?"

The guitarist sighed, but turned back from his front door anyway. The look he gave Yuugi seemed to speak volumes, but to Yuugi, it could have been in a different language, because he didn't know what on earth could have that man so upset. Atem walked up to the dividing fence and leaned his muscular arms against it. Yuugi waited for a response.

"Ah, Kitten, you're so dense sometimes."

Yuugi was both angered and even more confused as Atem shook his head solemnly at him. "What are you talking about?" Was what he asked instead.

"You don't know at all, do you?"

"Know what?!"

Atem shifted his eyes to the side and took a small moment to breathe in and out, then looked back at Yuugi with his full attention. "Tell me, pet, when was the last time you and Toots had sex?"

The shorter man's jaw dropped open in clear shock. "E-excuse me? Since when did my private life become of any concern to you?! Why the hell should I tell you, of all of the impossible people-!!"

"She's cheating on you, Kitten."

Yuugi's rant was cut off as Atem interrupted him. "W...what?" Yuugi studied the man's face, but Atem had turned away, almost as if he was bashful to be telling his neighbor such a thing. "Why should I believe you? I...I'll bet this is just your next prank, isn't it? Well...you impossible man!" Yuugi growled and stomped his foot in frustration.

Atem's dark eyes snapped onto is face, and he looked very stern. "We may not be on the best terms, Yuugi, but I've _never_ lied to you. Now _think!_ When was the last time?"

The shorter man took a pause at that. It was the first time Atem had ever used his real name. He had begun to wonder if he'd simply forgotten what it was, and opted to call him anything but his given name. He sifted through the last few weeks of his memories.

She had been avoiding his advances lately...

"Well?" He pressed again.

Yuugi didn't want to answer, but the almost epiphany was painful, and his traitorous mouth said 'three weeks' before he could stop himself.

Atem seemed to nod at the answer. "Told you so."

"How would you even know? You sleep during the day!" Yuugi pointed out.

Atem turned his eyes away again and huffed. "Yeah, well, you've managed to mess up my sleep as well. I woke up at eleven thirty wide awake on Monday morning. When I got a beer out of the fridge, I saw her and another man in your house, in her dance room, doing a lot more than just dancing."

Yuugi shook his head no. The very idea of Anzu cheating on him...the implications...they were too large to even entertain... "She wouldn't..."

"I know I don't look like much, Kitten. I drink, smoke, curse, and am a guitarist in a rock band. Not to mention a number of females have told me in many words I'm a crude man. I even can't condone lying, now and again. Some lies are important, like for presents. I understand. But there is one thing I value above all other things, and that is loyalty. And, I'm sorry, pet, but Toots isn't loyal. I couldn't keep that to myself."

It was the longest speech Yuugi had ever heard Atem give. He didn't know the man had so many words in him. "But..."

With one last shake of his head, Atem turned around and started to walk back to his house. "Sorry, Kitten, but I'm done with our war. I forfeit."

Yuugi found himself standing alone in the yard, his jaw hanging open and his heart beating painfully in his chest.

His perfect world was about to crumble into nothing. It couldn't be true... he had to be wrong...

Please let him be wrong...

***

_No, no, I don't own those lyrics. The credit for all of that belongs to the band The All-American Rejects. It's their song. Go listen to it! It's good. I hope you enjoyed! The next installment will be soon..._


	4. Dirty Laundry

_I Hope It Gives You Hell_

Yuugi felt like he was trapped in a bad dream as he walked into his home through his front door. The door closed with a snap behind him, but the sound of his thoughts swirling around in his head, and his heart pounding in his ears, drowned out all other noises around him.

Anzu was putting dinner on the table. The meatloaf was steaming, and the cooked carrots with butter and brown sugar was sitting in Anzu's favorite glass Pyrex bowl next to the basket of rolls.

How could she look so perfect in her pink cooking apron, smiling face, and be so treacherous behind his back? Could she really look at him like nothing was wrong when it very clearly was? Yuugi swallowed in an attempt to get his heart back down in his chest proper.

"Yuugi? What's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost." Anzu walked up to him with concern on her face. She flipped the red and white checkered kitchen towel over her shoulder.

"Anzu...I..." Yuugi closed his lips and tried to not make his mouth feel so dry. His stomach felt like it was in the shape of a pretzel. _Why, oh why do I have to ask this horrible question?_ "...Are you cheating on me?"

All signs of concern dropped from her face. Her expression became solidly blank, like a statue. "Yuugi, don't be ridiculous. I wouldn't do that. You know that."

Denial. Flat out denial. And why didn't her face looked shocked? Confused? Hurt? _Where was her emotion?!_ "Why have you been getting home so early? You haven't come home early in three years. Why now?"

Anzu's pretty face became a little more stern. "Honestly, Yuugi! You think just because I get home early that I'm having an affair! I can't believe after all this ti-"

"_The neighbor saw you!"_ He yelled louder than he intended to. He didn't want to yell, didn't want to raise his voice at all. How could he not, though, when she was lying so blatantly, even getting offended by his doubt, when she was _lying!_ "He saw you with another man in this house! In _our house!_ In your dance room! Who was he? Do I know him? How long, Anzu? _How long?!_"

Finally, she averted her eyes, shamed at having been caught. Yuugi felt she was unjustified as she started to cry. "I'm sorry, Yuugi."

"Why?" He begged. "Just tell me why?!"

Anzu shook her head as her emotions swam around in a troubled mess. Yuugi hated how shiny it was in the evening sun. Even when she was crying she looked so wonderful. _Stop looking like a Kodak moment so that I can stay angry at you, rather than feeling like you've clawed my heart out of my chest!_

"I didn't know why at first! I was just..I was bored, Yuugi! All you want me to do is be this perfect housewife, and we're not even married yet! I'm only twenty-five! I should be traveling the world in a dance troupe, not cooking meatloaf on weeknights and going to bed before ten! I'm tired of living up to this picture that you've painted of us!"

"So you decide to rebel by _cheating_ on me? Why didn't you just tell me! I thought you respected me more than that!"

"You wouldn't listen!" She yelled back. "You've become such an old man! Everything has to be just right with you! I...I can't take it anymore!"

And that was it. Yuugi decided that their conversation didn't need to go on any longer. "Just...get out, Anzu. Leave. I need some time to think."

***

Atem looked through his window at the neighbor's house. Kitten and Toots were standing in the dining room, right in front of one of their windows. Atem of course couldn't hear what they were saying, but he could see their body language, and that was enough to get the gist of what was happening.

Toots had rivers running down her face. Atem thought she looked rather haggard, eyes all puffy and red.

Poor pet was clutching at his chest like his heart had a hole in it. He was yelling back at her. He said something, then everything went still.

Atem's eyes widened a little when Toots hit Kitten in an open face slap. She ripped off the apron she had, threw the towel on the ground, and stormed out the door. His heart went out to the poor man as he touched his jaw, his eyes drawn to the floor. He could see the man's shoulders shake a little, most likely holding back tears of his own.

Atem downed the rest of his beer and threw it away. He went into his living room and grabbed his acoustic guitar and swung the strap over his shoulder. He reflected on the fact that he'd given up on women a long time ago as he stuck the pick between his teeth and settled himself on his couch. He entertained the idea of going next door to provide a shoulder to cry on, but if Yuugi was anything like him, even in the slightest, he just might want the night to collect himself before facing anyone, especially an estranged neighbor that loved to play pranks on him.

Bakura slunk out of his room for the first time that night and went straight for the beer. He gave Atem a cross look as he saw his roommate strumming away at the guitar, playing a definitely hard rock piece. "Keep it up, punk, and you'll give Dragonforce a run for their money."

Atem frowned, but toned down what he was doing a little. "What do you want?"

Bakura shrugged as he lit a cigarette. Atem glared a little, because it had been taken out of his pack. "Nothing. You just don't play with the intention of making your fingers bleed unless you're upset about something."

Atem kept playing. "It's nothing."

"Liar."

"All right, it's none of your business."

The white haired man grunted. "Fine. But I think you're cranky because you haven't played another prank on Pie Guy yet."

"That's _not_ it."

"Then just go fuck him already."

Atem sighed and stopped playing. He leaned an arm over his guitar as he looked at his roommate. "Is that all you ever think about?"

"No. Can't live without rock and roll, either. Everyone needs something to live for."

Atem shook his head, then went back to playing. "Whatever."

Bakura flicked the ash off of the end of his cigarette into the ash tray on the coffee table. "Well, whatever has your panties in a bunch, get them cleaned up before midnight. We've got a gig at Legend Night Club. Keith is paying us double our last show."

Double pay was nice, but Atem felt his mind be pulled somewhere else entirely has a light bulb lit up in his head. _Something to live for, indeed._

***

When the alarm rang at seven o'clock in the morning, Yuugi rolled over in bed with a groan. His head hurt from crying, and there was a physical pain in his chest. _I feel like I can't breathe._ Yuugi had been with Anzu since high school. What was he supposed to do now?

Mechanically, he went through his morning routine. He choked down his coffee and didn't even taste his eggs and toast. The thought of staying home didn't even cross his mind, because he always went to work, and the idea of staying in the house he and Anzu had picked out together to be their very first home didn't sit well. He slipped on his shoes, buttoned up his work coat, and opened up his front door at eight twenty five in the morning.

The sight of dirty socks, _very_ used boxers, and muddy shirts greeted his eyes. Yuugi felt his jaw drop open in shock at the sight of someone's dirty underwear strung up on his porch.

Someone had even pulled up a set of underwear on his flag pole. What was even more horrifying was the fact that it was a set of men's 'tighty-wighties,' with dark brown stains prominently on display.

Yuugi looked next door. His neighbor had his head poked out of his front door. One of his deep red eyes winked at him, and he smirked, before disappearing back inside of his house.

_He knew... _Yuugi found himself so beside himself, that he ended up laughing. _He knew, so he gave me a distraction._ And it was so awful, too! Yuugi had such a full bellied laugh as he made his way to his car, he didn't even bother to pull the dirty clothes down. Leave them up for the day. He didn't care. He'd clean it up when he came home from work, and have a new trap for Atem ready a few hours later. _Thank you_, he thought to himself. Even Yuugi hadn't realized how much he needed that.

***

Bakura turned up the music on the boom-box, and this time, Atem didn't tell him to turn it down for the neighbor's sake. He felt downright good as drummed away on Malik's drum set in the studio. Guitar was definitely his thing, but he was good at other instruments as well. Tonight, though, he needed something a little different. The prank on Yuugi had seemed to do its job, because he was positive of the smile he'd seen on the young man's face as he pulled out of the driveway that morning. Normally, Atem would never even think of staying up so early, but it was well worth the effort to make sure his prank had the desired effect. He wondered what the retaliation would be. Funny that he was almost looking forward to it.

"Hey! Royal Ass-Wipe!"

Atem snarled and drummed a little faster. "Up yours, Bakura!" His white haired fiend of a house mate stuck his head inside the room. "You've got a visitor, punk! I've tried to call you for a minute already!"

Atem twirled the drumstick in his hand before slapping it down on the symbol. "So what? Show them in."

Bakura rolled his eyes. "It's Pie Guy." Bakura grinned a not-so-friendly grin when Atem nearly lost his hold on the drum sticks.

"Why didn't you say so earlier?"

The white haired man only shrugged. "What? Is there something special about him?"

The guitarist snarled as he got up and walked past Bakura. "I hate you sometimes."

"Heh. I thought you always hated me. I guess you're getting soft."

Atem rolled his eyes, but continued on into the entryway. He couldn't believe that Bakura had left him on the front porch! What a jer-

"Oh, Kitten." Yuugi was clutching his arms to his chest, and his cheeks were wet with moisture. He looked rather small as he stood on Atem's front porch. Atem reached a hand out and gestured for Yuugi to come in, but he just stood there, looking lost.

"What do I do now, Atem?"

The guitarist blinked. "What?"

Yuugi's shoulders shook a little. "What do I do now that she's gone?"

Why did he have to look so lost? Resolute, Atem wrapped an arm around his small shoulders and pulled him inside. Yuugi was numb as Atem pushed him into the couch and shoved a bottle of beer in his hand.

"I don't drink," was his meek protest.

"You do now."

Yuugi swallowed a gulp and didn't even seem to register the flavor. "Anzu and I have been together our whole lives. We met when we were five, flirted in junior high, started dating in high school. I proposed in college, and we were supposed to get married in five months. I did _everything_ for her! I switched which college I was going to go to, just to stay with her! The reason I _got_ a nine to five job was so that I could be with her in the evenings! And then she goes and says that I was forcing her into a certain lifestyle!!" The tears started again. "I wouldn't even be in this state if I wasn't with her! New York? Why would an archaeologist major want to live in _New York?!_ Why would I double major in business, if it wasn't to get a job so that I could stay with her?!" He clutched at his hair and squeezed his eyes closed.

"It's not your fault, Kitten."

Yuugi's small laugh held no humor. "Of course it is. This certainly wouldn't have happened if I wasn't here in the first place."

"You cannot be held responsible for the acts of someone else. It's Toots's fault she cheated, not yours. It's her fault she left, and her fault she couldn't be honest. You aren't the one that was dishonest."

Yuugi clutched at his chest again. "How could she do this to me?"

It was almost strange to think that this was his first heartbreak. Atem sighed as he remembered that the first time was always the hardest. He looked through the window in his living room towards Yuugi's house. "She came back tonight?"

Yuugi nodded, then sucked down more of his beer. "Came to get her stuff. With _him._"

She _hadn't._ Atem snarled. "That wretched little..."

Yuugi chuckled and raised his beer. "Duke Devlin. _That's_ his name. Have you ever heard of such a bullshit name as that? Who the hell name's their child _Duke?!_" Yuugi chugged down more beer. "And you know what? I can't even blame the bastard! He didn't know! _Didn't even fucking know!" _

Atem reflected that it was the first time He'd ever heard Kitten curse. Hm. He wondered what else Kitten would do with some more alcohol in him.

"Poor man apologized to me! Said he had no idea she was cheating! Didn't know she had anyone at all. She drags him here, he sees me, and his face went _white!_" Yuugi shook his head again. "At least he had the good grace to be ashamed." He drank the last of his beer, and was surprised to notice the bottle was empty so quickly.

Bakura walked into the living room with a scowl on his face. "Would you just fuck him already, Atem?! I'm tired of this pity party in here. I want my living room back!"

The guitarist threw an empty plastic cup at his house mate. "Quiet, you prick!"

Bakura laughed as he walked into the kitchen.

Yuugi looked at Atem with shock written on his face. "You're gay?"

Atem raised his hands in a sign of surrender. "Guilty."

He leaned back against the couch, still holding his empty bottle. "Huh."

Atem was glad his reflexes were quick, because he caught the two bottles of beer Bakura tossed him with ease. He popped off one of the caps and replaced Yuugi's empty one, then enjoyed his own. Heh. He knew there was _some_ reason he was still friends with that fiend.

Yuugi looked up at Atem, his eyes still lost. "What do I do now?"

He gazed at those endless purple eyes. He could feel the cold of the beer bottle seep into his hands. The night air was hot, with sweat trickling down both of their faces. Atem made his mind up right there exactly what he wanted. He extended a hand out, with his palm up. "Spend the night with me, Kitten."

Yuugi looked at the hand open for him to take. He should be going to sleep. He should be getting prepared for work the next day. It was only Thursday. He had one more day of work before the weekend.

"I promise you that you won't regret it."

Yuug slipped his hand into Atem's, and felt the dusky, calloused hand close gently over his.


	5. Cinnamon

_I Hope It Gives You Hell_

When Atem pulled Yuugi by the hand off the couch and into his car, Yuugi was sure that the guitarist was going to take him to a night club and party away with him the rest of the night. It didn't seem like too much of a stretch of the imagination, as it was the environment that Atem was most familiar with. Yuugi vaguely wondered which bar they'd hit up first, and how sick he'd feel in the morning.

So when Atem's car got on the opposite highway and headed away from the city lights, he found his curiosity growing. Just where was Atem taking him?

It was a good forty five minutes before the car finally started to slow down. Yuugi looked up at the sky through his window, and could actually see the stars. It had been quite some time since he'd been able to see the milky way up in the sky.

There were few other cars around them, but Yuugi began to notice the number marginally increase as they headed towards what looked like a ticket booth. Then he saw the sign for it. _Valli High Drive In. _

"A drive in movie?" he found himself asking.

Atem shrugged a little. "It seemed like a good idea."

"I had no idea there was one close by at all."

His companion grinned. "A little secret those of us with a case of nostalgia come to every now and again."

Perhaps this wasn't such a bad idea after all. Yuugi leaned back as Atem bought their tickets and was asked by the clerk to turn their radio station to FM 86.3. "What's playing?"

"Monster Zombies and Metropolis."

Yuugi looked over sharply. "A B-movie horror and a black and white film?"

Atem smirked. "Yup."

Atem was just full of surprises. Yuugi certainly didn't think of him immediately to be the type to even have nostalgia, and to even want to see an old black and white film like Metropolis was down right mind boggling.

Atem drove his black mustang around to the very back of the lot. They had a clear view of the screen, even if it was a little further away. According to the ticket, Yuugi noticed they still had a good twenty minutes before the shows started. He hummed a little as he sat back in his seat. "Well, we've got some time to kill. Know any good games?"

Atem shrugged. "Not really, but I know something that usually passes the time pretty quickly."

Yuugi watched him as he unbuckled his seat belt and got out of the car. The guitarist then proceeded to pull his guitar out of the back seat, then opened up the trunk. Yuugi got out just in time to see him pull a blanket out of the trunk and hand it to him. Huh. He didn't even notice Atem put the guitar into the car when they first got in. He wrapped the blanket around his shoulders, not really cold yet, but enjoyed the softness of the material just the same.

The guitarist hopped up to the hood of his car and settled his guitar in his lap. Yuugi went around to the other side and pulled himself up as well. When the taller man started to play, Yuugi noticed for the first time the boots that he wore. They were black leather, with buckles across the top and steel tips on the ends. Atem's jeans were black as well, and he wore two different belts around his hips. He certainly looked like a punk rocker.

Yuugi leaned back against the windshield and looked up at the stars. God, they were so beautiful this far away from the city. He pointed up to the milky way. "Do you see that slightly blank space up in the stars, Atem? Kind of looks like a path right down the middle.

Atem looked up and followed Yuugi's finger. "Sure do."

Yuugi put his hand back down as his thoughts mused. "Some native American tribes used to believe that when you died, your soul had to travel that path to make it to the after life."

"Hmm," was Atem's reply. "I'm Egyptian. My ancestors believed that the journey to the underworld, as some texts claim, was found in a series of underground caves beneath the Giza Plateau."

Yuugi turned his head sharply. "You know about those caves?"

His companion nodded. "Of course. My family has known about them for generations. Only modern digs have just dug up proof of them."

Yuugi was jealous. "My Grandfather is an archaeologist. He sent me pictures of his digs there. I'm so jealous that I haven't been able to be there, too, digging up the past." The music Atem was strumming became harder. Yuugi's brow creased with some tension. He wasn't the biggest rock fan. "Do you ever play anything different?"

The man's eyes were closed as he fingers strummed new chords. "Any suggestions, Kitten?"

"Well, I prefer classical music."

Atem grunted. "I don't exactly have an orchestra on hand."

He sighed in reply. "I know."

Then Atem's chords shifted entirely, and after a moment, Yuugi recognized the tune he was hearing. He sat up a little in surprise. "Greensleeves?"

Atem smirked at him as his arm kept strumming up and down. "It's about the only thing I know that's closer to your style of music."

Yuugi smiled as he looked back up at the stars. Normally, Greensleeves was played on a harp, but Atem made it sound so _good_ on a guitar. "It's nice."

It was about ten minutes later that the movie _Zombie Monsters_ started playing on the screen. Yuugi ducked back into the car and turned on the radio so they would have sound. Atem put his guitar back in the car and, fifteen minutes into the movie, they found themselves curled up together in the blanket laughing at the show.

Atem had this funny habit of making rude statements when a close up of a zombie came on screen, and Yuugi couldn't help but laugh every time Atem informed him in a gravelly voice how much he wanted to eat his brains or have 'Kitten eye-ball soup.' Atem smelled almost intoxicating next to him, with a darkly musky scent and a moist, warm breath raining down his neck. He shivered quite a few times that night, and it wasn't from the cold.

His stomach wasn't supposed to flip like that, either, every time that man used one of his pet names for Yuugi.

It was three am when Metropolis finished. Yuugi sleepily informed Atem that he was very cold and very hungry. As they got back in the car and started to drive out, Atem replied; "Kitten, there's only one place at this time of the night that will warm you up and feed you."

Yuugi groaned a little as he slid down his seat. "A dance club."

"Yup."

"Why am I not surprised?"

"Kitten, when was the last time you actually went dancing?"

Yuugi shrugged. "I don't know. When I turned eighteen, I guess. My best friends from high school dragged me to a dance club and got so drunk I had to drive them both home. Never found any other reason to go."

Atem tisked. "Shame. You're missing out, pet."

Yuugi raised an eyebrow in question. "How so?"

His companion merely winked at him. "You'll see."

The drive back into the city took longer than the drive out, because they had further to go. By the time Atem took him to the guitarist's desired club of choice, they were so far into the city taller buildings were surrounding them and the sky scrapers were only a few blocks away. The club was called '_La Roux_,' and was covered in flashing red lights and plastered with rock posters.

Inside it was very hot. Yuugi was just grateful there wasn't a cover charge, because he didn't expect they were going to be there much longer anyway. What _was_ interesting, though, was the style of music that was playing, and the type of dancing that was going on. "Salsa dancing?" He questioned out loud.

"It's Latin Night on Thursdays. Best time of the week to come."

Yuugi raised an eyebrow. Interesting. He didn't think Atem to be the type to do Latin music. But, then again, this man was having many surprises for him tonight. He was pulled out of his thoughts as Atem took his hand and pulled him up to the bar.

"What do you want, Kitten?" Atem's lips formed the question right next to his ear. Yuugi's skin prickled with goosebumps, and he was sure it wasn't from the temperature difference in the room.

Yuugi glanced at the menu that had been shoved under his nose. He ordered the first thing that looked good that he saw. "Tacos are fine. With a coke."

Atem waived the bartender over. "Hey, Keith! Two orders of tacos with a beer and a rum and coke!"

Yuugi spluttered a little. "Hey, I didn't ask for rum in it! I told you I don't drink."

The guitarist gave him a sly grin. "And I told you that you do now."

The more sinister part of Yuugi's brain flashed the thought of _he wants to get you drunk so he can sleep with you,_ and surprisingly he didn't find himself getting angry over such an idea. _Heh. I'll bet I'm still a little intoxicated. There's no way I'd be thinking like this sober._

The blond haired bartender was a big burly man with a grizzly face from not being shaved in a few days. He scowled at Yuugi as he walked up to them at the bar. "Yami, you bastard! If I've told you once, I've told you a million times! No minors at the bar!"

Yuugi groaned as he reached for his ID. Why, oh why did he have to look so young? He flashed his driver's license. "I'm twenty five!"

The bartender looked at the ID so long, Yuugi began to wonder if he was going to burn holes in it. Instead of admitting any fault, though, he merely grunted, then served up their beverages.

Yuugi looked at his companion. "Why did he call you 'Yami'?"

Atem moved his barstool closer to Yuugi and pulled himself up. The shorter man noticed how the guitarist kept so close to him their legs were somewhat touching. "It's my stage name. Most of the people I know in the city call me that."

Yuugi took a sip from his drink. "Do you want me to call you that?"

"Kitten, you can call me whatever you want."

It was nice that it was so dark in the club, because Yuugi did not want anyone to see the blush that dusted across his cheeks.

When the tacos finally arrived, Yuugi wolfed them down so quickly he barely even tasted them, but he had the vague impression that they were delicious. He was hungrier than he thought.

Atem threw a wad of bills on the counter when they'd finished their meal, and started to pull Yuugi to the dance floor. "You didn't have to pay for me," he protested.

"Don't worry about it, pet."

"And I'm not dancing."

"Of course you're not. I'm dancing, and you're following along."

Yuugi rolled his eyes. The logic of this man. "But-!"

His companion twirled him around and pulled him flush against his chest. Yuugi's protests died suddenly when he found himself looking into impossibly deep crimson eyes. "Basic step, Kitten. Left leg forward, back to middle, right leg back, back to middle."

Yuugi rolled his eyes as he easily fell into step. "I know how to dance, Atem. And you gave me the woman's roll."

The guitarist's grin grew wider. "Well, someone's got to fill it."

Five minutes into their dancing had the rum swimming quickly to Yuugi's head. When Atem started to make the steps more complicated, he relied on muscle memory and didn't complain when he was doing decidedly female moves. In fact, he had to keep the butterflies in his stomach in check when Atem leaned him backward in an almost dip and pulled on his his legs up around the taller man's waist.

Gods, the heat and the friction wasn't supposed to feel this good. Atem's hand on his thigh held him tightly, and even through his jeans if felt like fire racing down to his flesh.

By the time the two of them ended up at the edge of the dance floor, Yuugi had lost all sense of time. His focus had narrowed down to the handsome face that was starring intently at him. He realized after a moment that, with his back pressed up against the bar in a dark corner, he and Atem were in a fairly compromising position. Their faces were close enough for Atem to give him an Eskimo kiss.

When he felt like giggling, the far corner of his once sober mind realized he was probably a bit drunk. "If I didn't know better, Atem, I'd say that you wanted me right now."

Moist breath rained down his face. "And tell me, Kitten, what would make you think that?"

Yuugi shrugged and reached an arm behind Atem's neck. "Oh...I dunno. It might have something to do with the fact that one of your knees is wedged between my legs, and you're holding onto my waist tightly." Yuugi moved his face an inch closer. "It might also have something to do with you having me pinned up against the bar."

There was very clear want in those ruby red eyes. One of Atem's hands on his hips twitched, then moved to the small of his back and brought him even closer. Half an inch apart from kissing, Atem paused to gain his breath. He wanted this.

"Get a room you two! It's closing time!"

Both sets of eyes snapped over to a man that was leaning over the bar with his last drink of the night. "I hate you Malik!" Atem snarled.

Yuugi started laughing and leaned his forehead against Atem's shoulder. "Ah, I think I need to go to sleep. I'm exhausted." He looked at the blond haired man with lavender colored eyes that just yelled at them. "Who's that?"

"Malik. He's the drummer of our band. This is his usual bar of choice." Atem flipped him the birdie as he directed Yuugi towards the door.

Malik only grinned in return, both of his canines visible. "Love you to, Yami!"

Yuugi's eyes closed immediately when he got in the car and Atem closed his door. Before he even realized it, the engine was turned off and Atem was extracting him from the passenger's seat. It appeared they were back at Atem's house.

The alcohol must have been affecting him, along with the exhaustion, because he headed straight into Atem's house and didn't even take a second look at his own. As soon as their shoes were kicked off, he plopped down on the couch and checked his cell phone for the time.

That's when the panic started to set in. "Ah! Oh my god, Atem! It's six o'clock in the morning! I have to be to work in three hours!!"

The guitarist sat next to him and looked at the time. "So it is, Kitten."

Yuugi pulled at his hair. "What am I going to do?"

Atem pulled his cell phone out of Yuugi's hands and started to play with it. "Where do you work again, pet?"

"Paramour Legal. I'm a human resources assistant."

"What's the phone number there? In your office?"

Yuugi rattled off the number as he tried to hide within the couch. Ugh, how was he supposed to get through the day?

"Hello, Paramour Legal? Yes, I'm calling for a Mr. Yuugi Motou."

Yuugi's eyes snapped open in alarm when he heard Atem talking to someone at his work. "W-what are you doing?"

Atem ignored him as he continued to talk. "Yes, I'm sorry to call so early. You see, I'm at the hospital with Mr. Motou right now. Yes, yes, he's all right at the moment. Doctor's say he's stable. Hm, car accident last night. Yes, I'm his neighbor."

Yuugi stood up and tried to reach for the phone, but Atem had hopped up and was dodging his reach. His grin was wicked as he continued on in acted sympathy.

"Stop! Don't lie to them! Atem...!"

"Yes, he asked me to call for you. Oh, I'm terribly sorry. He's knocked out at the moment. They've had him in surgery for about an hour already for his leg. No, no, don't worry, I'll have him call you as soon as the medication has worn off. Yes, thank you."

When Atem hung up the phone, he practically cackled. Yuugi was bouncing on his feet with panic. "What did you do! I wasn't in a car accident last night! I've never called in sick to work in my entire life!!"

"Ah, Kitten! Relax! You've needed some time off for quite a while if you've never called in before. I just bought you at least two weeks vacation! The person on the phone wishes you well, by the way. Says they're terribly sorry for the accident."

Yuugi growled. "Oh, you terrible man!"

Atem merely laughed some more. "Here. Have one more beer. We're _both _getting some sleep." He pushed a bottle of beer in Yuugi's hands that he had pulled from the fridge.

Yuugi down half of it before he took another moment to breathe. "Ah, I hate you Atem."

The guitarist led him towards the bedroom. "I know, Kitten." Atem's room was very dark when they entered. Yuugi took another drink of beer. "I'm also not sleeping with you."

Atem shrugged. "Well, you could sleep on the couch, but it's awfully bright during the day. There's no curtains yet anywhere else, you see."

Yuugi frowned and eyed the bed carefully. Well, it certainly _looked_ big enough. "Fine. But no groping."

As soon as they had lied down and pulled the covers up, Yuugi could have _sworn_ he felt Atem smile. "So, everything besides groping, right Kitten?"

He snorted. It didn't seem right to justify that with a response. Especially when the bed was soft, warm, and smelled like toasted cinnamon. Yuugi fell asleep quickly. Atem, after all, smelled _wonderful_, and falling asleep in a bed that smelled like him was so easy.


	6. Red Eye

_I Hope It Gives You Hell_

When his mind finally pried itself out of dreamworld, the first thing his attention was drawn to was the smell of cinnamon and sweat. Yuugi opened his eyes and stretched his arms, which were hanging off of the edge of the bed. The smell wasn't an unpleasant one, either, he was realized. He'd read plenty of articles before on studies of human smells. The better someone smelled to a person, even if they were sweating, was a sign of higher genetic compatibility.

Or maybe it was something like that. His fuzzy mind couldn't remember for sure. All he knew was that it smelled good, and that was supposed to be a good sign.

What _was_ really odd, though, was the weight that had settled around him. Yuugi stretched his legs, and realized that Atem had somehow wound himself around the shorter man while they slept. Yuugi slowly turned from his right side onto his back, which caused his shoulder to dig itself deeper into Atem's hold. Once he was on his back, he could see the sleepy yet content smile on the guitarist's face. Yuugi wasn't sure if he was supposed to be happy about that look, or feel uneasy with the fact that Atem was becoming attached to him so quickly. He turned his head to look at the clock, and found that it was three thirty in the afternoon. _Ah, don't stress about it right now. He's still asleep. Probably didn't even realize that he'd tangled himself up with me. _

Yuugi pushed himself out of bed and eased himself to the door. He needed a bathroom break, and a view of some sunlight. Ugh, he'd _never_ slept all day before. He still needed to call work, too!

The rest of the house outside of Atem's bedroom was nice and bright with the afternoon sun. Yuugi made his way to the bathroom and, after relieving himself, walked into the kitchen and grabbed a glass of water. He sat down at a small table in the kitchen and rubbed his forehead as he contemplated his situation. What was he going to do with himself now? His house had been empty for nearly two days already, and Anzu was not going to come back. He had enough money saved up in the bank to do quite a number of things. Should he travel for a while? Find a new job, closer to his interests? Sell the house and move into an apartment? Visit family, or take a vacation? He didn't know. He felt a little directionless at the moment. Plus he still didn't know what to make of Atem. The alcohol from the night before did not cloud his memory, and he knew that the man had wanted to kiss him. Did he even want to attempt to dive into a new relationship so soon? He'd just broken out of an almost lifelong relationship. Ten official years he and Anzu had been together. Could his heart take any more emotions at the moment, especially the chaotic ones of new love?

His head snapped up when the doorbell rang. Yuugi wondered if he should bother answering it. It wasn't his home, after all, and if it was anyone that Atem or Bakura knew, they should know that the men were always asleep at that time of the day. Mail, perhaps? It was possible the UPS man had left a package by the door. It rang again. Yuugi got up from the table and walked up to the door. He pressed himself against the peep-hole to see who it was that was trying to get their attention.

His heart lept out of his chest when he saw just _who_ was ringing Atem's doorbell. _It can't be..._ Yuugi pushed his back against the door and held his hand to his chest.

The person on the other side knocked on the door quite a few times.

Good _Lord_, how was his grandfather there beating down the door? No one was supposed to know where he was! Wincing as he moved his hand to the door knob, Yuugi braced for the lecture he was about to receive. He opened the door.

Solomon Motou's lavender colored eyes looked shocked when they landed on his grandson standing on the other side of the threshold. "Yuugi?" he questioned. "What are _you_ doing here!? You don't look like you're in the hospital!! I got into town last night and came looking for you! Couldn't find you anywhere! I called your work and they said your neighbor took you into the _hospital!_ I was worried sick!!! You're not hurt-!"

"Grandpa!" Yuugi spluttered. "Please, calm down! I can explain!" His grandfather must have been told that his neighbor had taken him to the hospital, but he hadn't been told which one, which hadn't been a bit of knowledge that Atem had imparted to his work that morning. Solomon had most likely started asking _all_ of the neighbors if they knew anything.

"Kitten?"

Yuugi jumped and stiffened when one of Atem's arms slung around his shoulders, and the sleepy man purred his nickname into his ear. He carefully pried the man's arm away and started to steer him back to his bedroom. "It's nothing Atem. Go back to sleep."

"Who's here?"

"My grandfather."

Atem grunted, but did not seem to be in the state to argue as he walked back towards his room. Yuugi was grateful for that. Once he heard the bedroom door close down the hall, he turned back to his relative and sighed. "Come on, Grandpa. We need to talk." Solomon's eyes were still questioning, but he didn't press for more information yet. Yuugi led the old man back to his house next door and walked in. Hmm. It seemed he'd even forgotten to lock the front door in his haste to get away from there the previous night.

They walked into the kitchen, and as soon as the old man sat himself down in a chair, his questioning started. "Yuugi my boy, what on earth is going on with you? You're not acting like yourself."

The young man started the coffee pot and pulled out two mugs for the coffee. He sat down at the table as the machine started to roar to life and brew him a fresh pot of coffee. "Anzu and I broke up two days ago."

Solomon's face saddened considerably. "Oh, Yuugi, what happened?"

He turned his face to the side and stared at the coffee machine. His heart felt a little heavier as the memories floated back, the wound still fresh. "She cheated on me."

His elder looked clearly shocked. "Anzu? You can't be serious. She wouldn't..."

Yuugi rested his head on the hand he had propped up on the table. "That's what I said, too. But she did, she really did." He snorted. "She even brought _him_ over when she picked up all of her stuff yesterday."

"Yuugi..." Solomon's had found his other one and squeezed. His grandfather had always been close to him, and had known Anzu since she was little. He didn't press for more answers. The details didn't really matter, anyway. What was done was done, and the only thing that mattered now was his grandson's welfare. "What are you going to do now?"

Yuugi stretched his hands out with his palms up, a sign that he was without answers. "I don't know."

"Who was that other man just now? And why were you at the neighbor's house? I was in town visiting Arthur, and when I came over here to see you and spend the night, I couldn't fine you anywhere! I was so worried about you!"

Yuugi smiled a little, and got up to pour himself and his grandfather a cup of coffee. "Atem took me to a drive in movie last night to get my mind off of Anzu.I ended up staying the night at his place. When I freaked out this morning about going to work, he called and made up some excuse about a car accident. He claims he just bought me two weeks of vacation time."

Solomon nodded. "Yes, I suppose you _could_ use the time off, especially after all of this."

Yuugi took a sip of his drink, grateful as the caffeinated beverage slid down his throat. Oh, how he needed his coffee. "What should I do?"

"Whatever you want to."

Yuugi shook his head ruefully. "That's just it, Grandpa, I don't _know_ what I want to do. I haven't really thought about what I want to do in a long time. I don't even know where to start."

"Do you still love archeology?"

"Of course I do."

"Then do it."

Yuugi frowned into his coffee. "I'd have to sell the house, and the car. I'd have to quit my job, and try to get a fellowship through one of the local colleges. I don't really know of any business that would be hiring for such research, especially one without any actual field experience. I could lose so much money chasing that dream."

"So what? You can always go back to the business world, if that's what it comes to."

He rubbed his hand through his hair. "Ugh, I miss college. Things were so much more simple there. I went to school, studied, worked my part time job, and spent time with friends in my off hours."

Solomon lifted his eyebrows as he took a drink from his mug. "What's wrong with going back?"

His eyebrows furrowed together as he thought about it. "I've already got the degree I want. I can't go back, especially with how expensive undergraduate degrees are."

"What, you'd want to get a bachelor's in something else?"

Yuugi's eyes widened a bit. Of course. There _was_ a Master's degree he could try to get. _Huh. I've never thought about that before._

His grandfather smiled as the comprehension dawned on his face. "Well, anyway my boy, I'll be out and about for the next few days. I hope you don't mind if I use your extra bedroom whilst I'm here."

"Of course not, Grandpa, you know you're always welcome."

"Good, good. I'm off again to see Arthur. There's a steak at _Bennigan's_ with my name on it!" He chuckled as he got up and put his coffee mug in the sink. Yuugi smiled and said goodbye as an aged and calloused hand squeezed his shoulder before Solomon walked out the front door.

He put his mug in the sink as well, then went and pulled a change of clothes out of his closet. He showered, dressed, and called his work. He told his boss that a week would be enough time, but it was insisted that he take two. Of course, acting like he was still a little drugged up on pain medication and pretending to be going through the horrors of a car accident hadn't been easy. He hated lying, and his face was beat red the whole time.

But, in the end, he was given two weeks of paid vacation, and he so far had no plans.

He didn't know why, but he went back to Atem's house. He was still a little sleepy, even though he'd just downed caffeine and had a hot shower, and he found himself not wanting to rest in his empty house. There were some things that Anzu had not taken with her, even though they were hers. Some of the things were pictures of the two of them on the walls, and Yuugi most certainly did not want to look at those. Besides, Atem had been so kind to him, that he felt it would be rude to allow the guitarist to wake up alone without even an explanation as to where he went.

There wasn't even a grunt of protest when he slid back into bed and pulled up the covers. Ten minutes later, he didn't protest either when Atem's arms found his waist again, and he was pulled into a warm embrace.

***

When Atem woke up that evening with a smile on his face, he at first wondered what his body was hitting as he went to stretch. When he opened up his eyes, his smile grew so much wider. Kitten was still next to him, and hadn't even fought off the hug his sleepy self had pulled him into.

Atem yawned and extracted one of his arms to use his hand to rub the sleep out of his eyes. Yuugi's eyes fluttered open as well with the sudden noise and movement that pulled him from his light sleep. His deep purple eyes flicked over to the man next to him.

"Kitten," was Atem's warm greeting.

"Atem," Yuugi blinked back.

The guitarist opened his mouth to say something back, but Yuugi's head turned to look up, and his eyes looked up at the ceiling before he even noticed. Atem could clearly see he was thinking about something. "Pet?" he questioned.

Yuugi frowned a little, but he didn't fight the nicknames anymore. "I have two weeks of vacation, and not the faintest idea what I should do with myself." His eyes moved back over to Atem's red ones. "For the first time in my life, I can do anything I want to, and I mean _anything_ I want, and I don't know what to do." Yuugi saw Atem frown, but not respond. Instead, the guitarist moved over him and reached for something on the end table. Yuugi '_oomphed_' as his air was constricted a bit and pushed feebly, but Atem seemed to be blissfully unaware that he was pinning Yuugi to the bed. "Do you_ mind_?" he eventually asked.

There was a small grunt of triumph as Atem reached what he had been looking for and pulled himself back on the bed proper. Yuugi watched as he wrote something down on a piece of blue paper. Whatever he wrote down, it wasn't long, because he threw the pen down to the floor when he was done and handed Yuugi the slip of paper. On it was a very simple address, in Atem's spidery cursive.

_1239 La Promessa Punto_

_Marina di Cecina_

_Tuscana_

_Italia_

"Italy?" he asked with confusion.

"Go there," Atem said, and Yuugi found himself almost shocked at the level of seriousness on the man's voice.

"Why?"

The guitarist shrugged next to him. "Why not? You know of anywhere else better to go?"

Yuugi breathed noisily through his nostrils as he looked back at the address. "Not really. What's there?"

He did not get a response. Only the nearly bone crushing hug the taller man gave him, and the heartfelt smile as Atem got up and started to get ready for his gig that night.

_***_

It was midnight as Yuugi bought his ticket for Italy and sat in the airport, waiting for the boarding of his twelve thirty flight. His round trip ticket allowed him to stay for eight days, unless he wanted to extend it for longer for a small additional fee. It was downright crazy of him to run off to an address he'd never even heard of before, with nothing but one pack of clothes and a wallet full of cash. Atem would answer no other questions he'd plagued him with that night with regards to the address written down on that tiny slip of blue paper. No, the only thing Yuugi _did _arm himself with was a bilingual dictionary for Italian and English. He also stashed a small paperback book with English and French translations as well. No telling how many other languages he was going to run into, and Italy was very close to France.

Granted, Germany and Spain were close, too, along with Greece. Perhaps he should buy a few more dictionaries before he got there.

What was waiting for him at _La Promessa Punta?_ Yuugi had looked up what the translation was, and it apparently meant 'the promise point.' At least, he hoped he had that right. It seemed to make sense, at least.

An overhead announcement declared the boarding for first class, so Yuugi stood up and walked up to the attendant that was checking tickets and passports. He flashed his paperwork, was given a nod, and boarded the plane. _Tuscany, here I come. For whatever reason Atem wants me to go._


	7. The Reflection House

_I Hope It Gives You Hell_

Yuugi had expected his plane ride to be long, boring, and extremely uncomfortable. Every trip he'd ever taken on a plane before had always been kept within the country, and consequently were never longer than three hours. He always rode coach, and was always so stiff when he finally was allowed the chance to stand up again he couldn't walk right for a couple of hours.

Flying first class was completely different. His seat was so spacious, he could recline so far he was practically completely flat, and he didn't even have to pay for the headphones that allowed him to listen to the classical music on the channel four option on the arm of his seat. Yuugi enjoyed a very late dinner that actually tasted good, and was given a soft blanket and a small pillow that fit nicely underneath of his head when he reclined to rest.

The attendants served him breakfast as well, which was also good. He was surprised that air plane food actually could have such a good flavor. He'd have to fly first class more often. He found it was definitely worth the extra fair.

Eight hours later, he had a layover in Paris, where he sat four a little over an hour and a half until he could jump on the next flight to Pisa, which lasted him about another two hours.

By the time he got to Pisa, it was late in the afternoon of the following day. Yuugi stretched his arms and felt his back pop as he stood in line waiting for a taxi. It was nice that it was so late, because he would make it to Marina di Cecina by evening and be able to sleep all night.

As Yuugi gave the address to the clerk at the counter, he mused about just where he was going. It would have been terribly easy for him to look up the location on the Internet and find out everything he could about it, but for some reason he felt he owed it to himself and to Atem to let himself be surprised. Why ruin what was possibly waiting for him?

Yuugi wasn't exactly sure everything that his driver was telling him as he helped to load up his luggage into the trunk. He did manage to catch snatches of _sir, please, _and _thank you_, but he didn't understand the rest of the Italian that was being said. So, for the hour ride he had to Marina di Cecina, it was quiet, with only the hum of the taxi creating noise.

Florence Pisa was a huge city. Yuugi found he couldn't tear his eyes away from the architecture, with its white city walls and red shingled roof tops. Huge churches and cathedrals were everywhere, and in the middle of everything was trees, grass, people, and cars.

There were a _lot_ of cars in Pisa. Yuugi found himself grateful that he was not driving, because it certainly looked stressful.

The country side itself was beautiful, too. Rolling hills covered with vineyards and cottages dotted the landscape. The young man found himself glad to be out of his normal surroundings. He could forget himself here for a while, and pretend to be someone else. It was freeing. There were no expectations he had to live up to. Yuugi smiled when he realized no one would be calling on him for any reason. No work, no pestering, just complete solitude and relaxation. He'd have to remember to thank Atem for this as soon as he made it home again.

The sun was nearly setting by the time the taxi took a sharp right down a windy hillside road and plunged itself through a bunch of trees that were overhanging the road. Yuugi noticed the street sign read _La Promessa Punta,_ and there was two or three other homes situated around the area. At the end of the road, as it had come to a dead end, was a small driveway that was flanked by two large cat sculptures. Yuugi recognized the four foot tall creations to be imitations of Egyptian Mau cats. The statues were well made. Yuugi marveled at the details in the faces. There were Egyptian Udjats carved to look like pendants hanging around their necks. Both cat statues were painted black. _This has to be the right place. Atem mentioned that his family is Egyptian._

Yuugi wasn't quite sure how much to pay and tip, so he fumbled with the exchanged tender until he heard a very grateful _grazie, grazie tanto!!_ from the driver. With that settled, Yuugi took a deep breath, hoisted his bag on his shoulder, and started to walk up the driveway.

There was a distinct flavor of sea salt on the air. He could even hear waves crashing against a shoreline the further up he walked. After what must have been five minutes of walking uphill, Yuugi finally settled his eyes on the small, one level home that was perched up on the hillside. Its walls were white and thick with plaster. The roof, much like many of the other roofs of Italy, was a rusted red color of stone shingles. There was a small fence of black wrought iron that held a poorly maintained garden of shrubs and grass. Cypress trees were everywhere.

Just as he was about to step onto the landing of the front door, the corner of his eyes caught sight of a person coming out of the garden. When he turned his head to look at them fully, he saw it was a woman with thick blond hair and bright blue eyes. She was wearing a white sun dress with yellow ribbon trim, and there was a small purple flower in her hair. She looked shocked to see anyone around, and started to rapidly question him in another language. If he wasn't mistaken, it sounded French.

Flustered, he fished in his pocket until he found the small piece of blue paper with the address written on it. Maybe he had the wrong place after all? Hopefully, she'd be able to tell him where he should have gone instead.

The woman quieted when he pushed to paper out for her to see. Her small hand took the proffered blue slip and looked at it. Her eyes narrowed at first, then widened when she saw what was written on it. "Dis is Atem's 'andwriting," she said in a very thick French accent. "You know my broser?"

"Yes," Yuugi replied, glad that she understood English. "He told me to come here. He didn't tell me family would be here."

The French woman handed him the paper back and seemed to relax. "He did not know I vould be here. No one knows I am here. My name is Mana. Vat is yours?"

"Yuugi. It's nice to meet you Mana."

The woman motioned for the two of them to enter the house, and Yuugi opened the door for her. "How do you know my broser?" She asked.

"He's my neighbor. He moved in next to me not too long ago."

The house was gorgeous on the inside. The walls were a soft, barely yellow warm color. The floor was covered in thick red stone tiles and rich oriental rugs. The back wall was made entirely out of glass, and the thick curtains that were hanging up were mostly opened, and revealed a breathtaking view of the sea.

"Ah, yes. He did mention some time ago zat he vas moving into a house. I 'avnen't seen him in quite some time."

Yuugi did not put his bag down quite yet. His eyebrows furrowed together as he stared at the place. "I would not have come if I had known the house was in use. I don't want to impose. Just let me call a cab and I'll get a hotel room in town."

Mana waved him off as she pulled some juice out of the fridge. "Do not be silly! If my broser sent you here, you must need to find yourself as vell! Dis house is plenty big enough! You'll 'ardly ever see me."

"Are you sure?"

"Positiv!" She stated firmly. Her accent was _so _thick. It sounded like she had lived in France all her life.

Yuugi let his bag fall to the floor and pulled up a chair at the center island that was to the right of him. The main room seemed to consist of almost everything. There was a fireplace on the far wall to his left, and the rest of the living room was broken into two sitting areas along the glass wall. To his right was a small hallway, then the kitchen and center island that occupied the wall of the front of the house. From the kitchen one did not have an impeded view of the living room, glass wall, or fireplace. "Forgive me for asking, but you seem very French, and Atem doesn't have even a trace of an accent. Are you blood related?"

Mana sighed as she sat across from him with her juice. "Yes, alzough our family could fool even ze best zat ve are truly related." She took a drink of her juice. "Our family started in Egypt, Luxor to be exact. Our parents broke up ven ve vere s'ree. My faser and broser moved to New York, and me and my moser moved to Marseille. Dis house 'as been in my family for generations on my faser's side. Every summer, Atem and I vould spend 'ere, and every vinter ve voud part again."

Yuugi nodded. "Makes sense. It's sad you get to see him so little."

Mana shrugged a little, and finished her juice.

Yuugi sat back and admired the native art on the walls. "Why would Atem have me come here?"

"Zat, 'Uugi, is easy to answer."

The young man winced at the slaughtering of his name, but did not move to correct her on the pronunciation. "Really? Why?"

"Because." She waved her slender hand in the direction of the house. "Alsough dis house is on _La Promessa Punto_, we have alvays called it _La Réflexion Maison._ Ze Reflection House. You see, ze only reason faser kept dis place is because of ze meaning it has long had for ze family. Venever one of us is feeling lost, or tired of ze outside vorld, ve come here to find ourselves again."

Yuugi's mouth opened as it dawned on him why Atem would have him come here. He was suddenly very struck with how much the guitarist must have come to care for him, to allow him to come to such a cherished place.

Mana gave him a sidelong glance. "Atem must care very much for you. I have not seen anyone outside of ze family allowed here since my moser."

He couldn't help but fiddle with the hem of his shirt. "Yes, he does seem to. I find myself a little surprised as well."

Mana stood up and placed her glass in the small dishwasher next to the sink. "My room is de first one on ze right. You can have any oz'er one zat is open."

"Thank you."

The woman smiled and turned to leave. Yuugi caught just the end of her white dress as she slipped into the hallway and into her room.

The sun had finally set by then. Yuugi got up and roamed around the kitchen for a little bit, as his stomach was starting to growl again. It had been quite a few hours since he'd had any food on the airplane. He grabbed an apple, and a couple of slices of bread, and made his way into the first bedroom on the left. It was the first one he found open, and with the view that it had of the ocean, he found he couldn't complain about the accommodations at all.

It was just then as he was brushing his teeth in the adjoining bathroom and marveling at the ornate fixtures on the sink, that Yuugi realized that he had no idea _why_ Mana was here, and she in turn hadn't asked why he needed to be there either. If this place indeed served as some sort of haven for family members that were looking for themselves, then there was a reason that Mana was here. He found himself a little curious as to why.

As he laid down on the very plush mattress, Yuugi realized that he was almost looking forward to the following day. There was a beach, delicious local food to try, and a mild mystery to solve. This vacation was already looking up.


End file.
